Birds in a Nest for Foliage Follow Up

New foliage is sprouting out everywhere, inside and out.

Birds Nest Fern with new Birds. This one loves a little shade.

Bromeliad with a friend.

A closer look at froggie.

What? Oh, yes. Foliage.

Stobilanthes and Purple Heart cuttings are about ready to go in the ground. 

Greenhouse Update, a Sort of Peek

I rearranged the Burro Tails:

Bromeliad Tree below with a drape of Spanish Moss. I gathered more Spanish Moss yesterday that was in easy reach while I waited for the end of the chain-sawing/moving trees that He-Who-Mows and Saws was completing. I have not found a good place to hang it that doesn't look awkward. Maybe I'll just put it outside for birds to line their nests without flying nearly a mile to find some.

Schlumbergera pots below with varying stages of buds in all colors. Larger pots are on the floor in front of Bromeliad tree above.

... and bits and pieces of rooted cuttings and seedlings that almost got left outside when I was moving things around.

Looking through a mess of stems above of leggy Graptopetalum and Firecracker Fern stems into a jungle of Tomato stems and fruit. If I can remember to keep oceans of water to the Russellia it will bloom little red firecrackers all winter, below.

When cuttings like this 'take' I want to rush out ahead of the coming freeze and take more cuttings to stick. Persian Shield is tricky to root; Purple Heart will almost root without a medium.

I gave away a good pot of rooted Alternanthera 'Chartreuse' on Monday and immediately pinched two more pots full to root, and some Red. I gathered Pentas seeds yesterday. I didn't think Pentas were easy from seeds until they started coming up in the greenhouse floor.

It's a grey day outside. Maybe we'll have a little rain. There's a cold wind blowing "right out of the North" as Daddy Mack used to say, as if 'right out of the North' was somehow more disagreeable (Mama's term) than 'from' the North. How did your folks describe cold weather?

Thanksgiving Cactus?

Appleblossom, Again

Last year when I repotted, I took an offset off my big Appleblossom Amaryllis and potted it separately. It spent the winter in the greenhouse, went outside with the others when the weather warmed and bloomed last week.

I put it in the house for Mother's Day and returned it to the greenhouse for watering. I like walking into the greenhouse and catching the fragrance -- unusual for an Amaryllis to smell so good.

Strobilanthes is still blooming in the greenhouse. I like the combination with the chartreuse of Bird's Nest Fern. Persian Shield in the garden has commenced new growth. We rarely see blooms outside.

Best of February's Bloom Day

Blessed to have flowers for Valentine's of my own growing, and blooms for Bloom Day.

White Shrimp Plant -- really these are 

bracts, the tiny pink blooms come later.

Begonia semperflorens and some Alternanthera.

The Chartreuse Slternanthers has tiny blooms.

Begonias are about the easiest to grow and bloom.

White Kalanchoes got leggy. There's an Amaryllis

in bud. I will know its name when it blooms.

A wider peek at the greenhouse interior.

Purple Heart with Persian Shield behind it in the planter.

Amaryllis bud at upper left is Appleblossom. 

Bottom left is Birds Nest Fern

Persian Shield and its bloom. 

The blooms are on cuttings rooted in water.

Bromeliads above with Alyssum seedlings below.

Purple Alternanthera growing in the 

greenhouse floor is blooming behind a fern.

Last of White Pearl Hyacinths in a nest of Sedum.

Angel Wing Begonia

Persian Shield

Strobilanthes dyerianus is a great purple for the shady garden. Usually listed as hardy to zone 9a, it is root hardy here in zone 8b. I take cuttings in the fall and put them under greenhouse benches in the shade where they often bloom. No blooms are seen in the summer garden.

Purple color is best in shade. Fades to silver in sun.

 

Persian Shield beside a Magnolia, Porterweed beginning to bloom in the

near view. A hummingbird nectaring on Porterweed the other day was

chased away by a big Swallowtail butterfly.

 

Closer view of Persian Shield next the Magnolia with a bit of

dwarf Lavender Pentas. Butterflies and I like tall Pentas, but these are

such a nice color that I keep them.

 

When a fern came up in the pot with this Strobilanthes I planted them out together.

 

 

 

Strobilanthes Is Blooming

It's a winter event to look forward to every year: Persian Shield puts on little blue cone-shaped blossoms.

 

In summer, we just use it as a foliage plant.

I root pieces to keep inside just in case it fails to

return the next year. Blooms are a bonus.

 

Hyacinths continue to open. I've given away two.

The pinks still are not open enough to make a show.

The last Hippeastrum blooms. Nymph's second stalk.

Otherwise in the greenhouse it's routine busy work. I stuck a few rose clippings to see if they may root. We had some really warm weather for a while and things like Brugmansias commenced to grow as if it were spring. Tonight we anticipate temps in the mid 20s.

 

There are always some pots that have roots coming out of the bottom that want bumping up to a bigger size, or at least I slide out the plant and put fresh soil at the bottom to bring the plant up nearer the top of the pot if soil settled.

 

February is starting out cold after January lulled us into thinking Spring was coming.

 

 

 

Persian Shield

Strobilanthes dyerianus is frequently sold as an annual for summer use. It roots easily and maybe grown as a houseplant. Only those who bring it through a winter get to see the cone-shaped blue flowers.

Plays well with others; I've planted it with Purple Heart,

Licorice plant, red Spider Lilies, lavender Pentas, and lilies.

 

Sometime in July or August I remember to take cuttings like these.

 

Cuttings will outgrow their pot and get easily rootbound. 

Today i repotted 6. One has buds forming so we will see

short-day blooms soon.

 

Strobilanthes is sometimes called 'Bermuda Conehead' for

these little blue blossoms.

 

Usually Persian Shield returns here in zone 8b without fail.

I take cuttings every year just in case and to have more

of that gorgeous purple foliage throughout the garden.

 

 

All photos used today are my own; none were taken today.

It seemed like a good day to review previous years' bloom.

Plants are readily available in the spring in garden centers. 

 

I almost forgot to mention that the best deep purples are grown in shade or part shade.

In the sun, the leaves get silvery if silver is something you need in your garden.

 

 

Purple Easter Eggs Were Always my Favorite

There are no children here to dye eggs and I didn't bother to get out ancient Easter pretties like tin eggs that hold a treasure, paper mache' eggs, the bunny that Grandmama made for Glenn at ceramics class . I did think about the big White Leghorn eggs we used to dye. My favorites were the rich purple eggs.

The front garden is full of purples: Spiderwort, Salvia leucantha and Larkspur.

Notice the Spiderwort clump on the right-of-way that He-who-mows carefully left.

Spiderwort is a thug and will soon be cut to the ground in this bed.

The clumps I leave will regrow and rebloom.

A closer view of Mexican Bush Sage and Larkspur.

Yesterday I moved two Mariesii Variegata Hydrangeas to a better location. I cut and potted up cuttings to root where there were long bare limbs. Left behind are Halcyon hostas to be moved.

In a frenzy of planting, I am planting out purple Datura seedlings. Four tiny Pride of Barbados seedlings have emerged along with new growth on the two existing P of B shrubs. I may pot up the seedlings until they are a little bigger and stronger so the pets don't step on them. He-Who-Mows cut the Fiesta Bed into workable sections where the grass got ahead of me.

There are more Daturas, three I'll plant out late this evening in the front and

several small seedlings that need bumping up into bigger pots.

White roses are blooming. We had New Dawn at home when I was a child. White Dawn has the same sweet fragrance but not the pink blush.

White Dawn. I like roses with that glossy dark green foliage.

One more purple. Several Persian Shield plants have returned.

This one is in the companyh of  Salvia leucantha and a Gerbera.

When I finish planting Datura seedlings that will look like this come July,

I may go find the box of Easter treasures after all.

He-Who-Mows is cutting and moving limbs on the big pecan tree that fell. I keep an ear out so I can go out to watch with phone in hand just in case while he saws. Scary.